ROWING:The Ireland heavyweight four, which finished seventh in the world this year, will receive a welcome boost in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Beijing with the acquisition of a new boat.
Merc Partners, a recruitment company, will present the Empacher boat today at the Garda Boat Club in Dublin. The craft and the oars are worth in the region of €17,000.
Yesterday, Dooley Motors of Carlow donated a Ford Ranger to the Irish Amateur Rowing Union (IARU) to help to transport boats and personnel.
Despite its profile as one of the top Olympic sports, rowing in Ireland has not been notably successful in landing sponsorship. Martin Corcoran, the chief executive of the IARU, welcomed the two new deals yesterday and said that a bigger announcement was likely next month.
Meanwhile, even the recent inclement weather has not grounded the sport here. Two-hundred and eighty-seven competitors - a record - took part in the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships at UCD on Sunday, setting six records.
Eamon Joyce, who has been invited to be part of an international training camp this weekend in Cork, was the fastest man on the day. New senior squad member Gerard Ward (19), won the under-23 lightweight section.
Helen Walshe was the fastest woman with a time of seven minutes 9.1 seconds, and an up-and-coming star, 17-year-old Laura Gannon, was only three seconds further back.
IRISH INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (UCD, Sunday, 2,000 metres) Men - Heavyweight: 1 E Joyce 6:11.1, 2 K McKenna (Garda) 6:12.3, 3 J Corcoran (Bray RC) 6:19.9. Under-23 Heavyweight: T Duggan (UCD) 6:24.5. 30-39: J Cunningham (Castleconnell) 6:18.8. 40-49: G Fitzgerald 6:14.7. 50-59: D Hislop 6:52.6. 60-69: R Stainforth 7:14.6. 70+: P Connell 8:20.8. Junior 18 Heavyweight: S Doran (Commercial) 6:33.9. Junior 16: C Ghul (Commercial) 6:27.6. Open Lightweight: 1 S White (Norwich) 6:50.8. Under-23 Lightweight: G Ward (Commercial) 6:30.0. Junior 18 Lightweight: P Moore (Neptune) 6:53.2. Women - Heavyweight: 1 H Walshe (UCD) 7:09.1. Under-23 Heavyweight: C Thornton (UCD) 7:19.8. 30-39: K Naylor-Perrott 7:40.1. 40-49: A Van Der Flier 7:59.5. Junior 18: L Gannon (Neptune) 7:12.2. Junior 16: L Dilleen (Tribesmen) 7:21.5. Lightweight: D Devery (UCD) 8:18.2. Under-23: N Fearon (UCD) 7:57.5. Junior 18: N Conlon (Portora) 8:08.6.
